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Do you read and use online reviews? Do you care if they are positive or negative?

I'll be straight forward here: Someone sent me a link to a review site that seems to review forums and sites like PC and others. The review that was linked was negative. So I read through many of them and I am in disbelief. Some of the things the negative reviews are claiming seem outrageous! Like seriously egregious and not....possible? I do not want to invalidate the experiences of others but Its so hard for me to see what they wrote as truth. Like I just dont get it. How do you discern which reviews to pay attention to? How do you know which ones might be real? What if your own experience is vastly different than others- do you doubt yourself?
I use Amazon for product reviews and I am getting better at spotting the fake ones. I have to read through a lot of them to form an opinion. I never knew that places like this had review sites and I find myself thinking that the people who wrote bad ones are troubled, problematic people but then- who am I to think this? I am having a hard time deciding how to feel. I admire, appreciate and rely on this forum so maybe I am biased? Or don't see the bigger picture? Please share your thoughts on reviews, whether forum reviews are fair, and any other review opinion you have.
Thanks,
-Sweets

Re: Do you read and use online reviews? Do you care if they are positive or negative?

Interesting question. I am very careful with handing out my own reviews. We covered already some of this in another forum (3 out of 5 stars to me is what was expected, 4 and 5 need to stand out). So I don't have a lot of faith in reviews to begin with. It is so easy to submit false positive and false negative reviews. I do however pay attention to those reviews that mention specific features and benefits, and advantages disadvantages. If these reviews answer a question I have then I will take closer notice. Simply stating a product or service was 'good' or 'bad' means nothing for me. Tell me why and offer the reason or example. For example, I read a mixed review on a tent once and bought it despite the review that called it "no bouncy castle". It met all the other requirements as per the reviews that addressed them, I just knew enough that it wouldn't stand up to unruly children - which I don't have. It ended up being a great buy and I saved a great deal of money.

Re: Do you read and use online reviews? Do you care if they are positive or negative?

I personally think that such reviews are not a representative sample of the average experience. People who take the time to write such reviews often write them because they are angry and venting. People who are happy or neutral about an experience are much more likely to spend their time living life in other ways because they arenít preoccupied with a real/perceived grievance. Although I bet some of the negative reviews have some accuracy to them, I donít think they are always informative about the typical experience of a customer/user. Proceed with critical thought!

__________________
"I think I'm a hypochondriac. I sure hope so, otherwise I'm just about to die."

Re: Do you read and use online reviews? Do you care if they are positive or negative?

Really angry reviews tell more about the writer than they do the person/site/products they are reviewing. I tend to take such reviews with a grain of salt. I average out the reviews if there's only a couple of reviews I don't take them seriously.

Re: Do you read and use online reviews? Do you care if they are positive or negative?

I don't understand why someone would need to post/read reviews for a forum like this one... most of the forum can be read without even creating a login. Why wouldn't someone just come and read the forum itself, and use that to decide if they wanted to participate?

I'm genuinely confused. I don't see the use of reviewing a free forum?

For other stuff, like products on Amazon and perfumes, I do read reviews, but try to take them with a grain of salt. There's so much that can go wrong with them, even if people are being honest.

Re: Do you read and use online reviews? Do you care if they are positive or negative?

I tend to view many and most reviews with an air of curiousity about "motive"..
If it seems like a barrage of negativity, I am skeptical and question whether the product/service is 'that bad' or is it a business/competitive purpose or is it a vendetta?
If all I see is glowing/raving reviews without an ounce of "meh..it's just ok" then I question the business/services as censorship.
Are reviews from 'influencers' asked to try and review in hopes of a kickback of some sorts??
I'm out of thoughts on more and more. It boils down to yes, I question purpose and motive and seek authenticity with the inner knowledge that I'm free to take my chances on an item/service.

Re: Do you read and use online reviews? Do you care if they are positive or negative?

Are you referring to reviews about this site? A visit to Reddit and you will see some negativity. Much of it is sourced in some rather negative things Dr John has been caught twittering and elsewhere saying. He actually doesn't have the best of reputations out there. However, does his own behaviour and actions reflect this forum, its content, and its participants? No, it doesn't. We behave in our own fashion without his direction. This forum then is a reflection not of his questionable statements and beliefs but ours.

Re: Do you read and use online reviews? Do you care if they are positive or negative?

Quote:

Originally Posted by sarahsweets

I'll be straight forward here: Someone sent me a link to a review site that seems to review forums and sites like PC and others. The review that was linked was negative. So I read through many of them and I am in disbelief. Some of the things the negative reviews are claiming seem outrageous! Like seriously egregious and not....possible? I do not want to invalidate the experiences of others but Its so hard for me to see what they wrote as truth. Like I just dont get it. How do you discern which reviews to pay attention to? How do you know which ones might be real? What if your own experience is vastly different than others- do you doubt yourself?
I use Amazon for product reviews and I am getting better at spotting the fake ones. I have to read through a lot of them to form an opinion. I never knew that places like this had review sites and I find myself thinking that the people who wrote bad ones are troubled, problematic people but then- who am I to think this? I am having a hard time deciding how to feel. I admire, appreciate and rely on this forum so maybe I am biased? Or don't see the bigger picture? Please share your thoughts on reviews, whether forum reviews are fair, and any other review opinion you have.
Thanks,
-Sweets

no I do not read reviews nor go by them. I instead go by my own experiences.

most reviews online are "hired" reviews where a company will hire people to sit at their home computers and post a certain way for money. example a friend of mine used to do these work while staying at home computer jobs where the company hired her to go online do a google search and then post bad reviews on everything but the companys own products, companies own approved listing of treatment providers... then based on how many reviews she posted that day she would get a pay check. she quit the job after just 2 reviews. she couldnt find it in her heart to post bad reviews for products and services she had either never tried or tried and they were actually good and the company she worked for was requiring her to post bad reviews.

Re: Do you read and use online reviews? Do you care if they are positive or negative?

I think Yelp is very helpful, also Amazon,Healthgrades, etc. I realize that some reviews might be biased, written by employees, whatever but I find reviews so helpful. When I write one, I take it very seriously. I dont write a lot. As a senior, we visit a lot of doctors. I have expressed on PC how outraged I am by the 15 minutes that medical doctors including pdocs are allotted under many insurances. Who can do a good job in 15 minutes???? Nobody, especially if the person has multiple medical conditions or mental health disorders. We can help other consumers so much by writing reviews.
As to bad reviews of Psych Central, I am astonished. I am so fond of people on the forums and I have learned more from my peers here on PC than from professionals by far in my 40 yrs w this very challenging disorder , in a world where very few seem to get it. Hugs!

Re: Do you read and use online reviews? Do you care if they are positive or negative?

I saw the alarming amount of negative reviews of this site as well (which far outweigh the positive). Many of which went into reasonable length providing their reasons with many having consistent complaints about the site and members. And adding to that, reviews usually have good intentions to inform the public of a high or low quality product. For those reasons, I don't think we should disregard those experiences. However, until my experiences mirror theirs, I will continue to use this site since I have encountered mostly empathetic, compassionate people who seem to put a lot of time into their posts and/or in being regularly active. Im frequently amazed by that.